Today In the Kitchen: Ready to go green?

Do you want to do something to change global warming, yet you are not sure where to begin? Here are some ideas that can make a difference. Whenever you save energy, you reduce the demand for fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, and also save money! Less burning of fossil fuels means lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to global warming, and other pollutants. Try a few of the following tips, and see how easy it is to be part of the solution.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. First is to reduce consumption, reuse wherever possible, and then recycle for better waste management, resource conservation, prevention of greenhouse emissions and other pollutants, saving energy, creating jobs, stimulating development of green technologies, and reducing the need for landfills.

Office supplies. If you use 100 percent recycled printer paper, you save 5 pounds of CO2 per ream of paper. You can recycle all paper, cartridges, ribbons, and other office supplies. Go to the EPA’s recycling page for e-waste recycling (computers, phones, etc.). Use shredded paper for packing materials.

Drive less. Drive just 15 miles less per week, and eliminate 900 pounds of CO2 per year.

Hybrid or fuel-efficient cars. The average driver could eliminate around 16,000 pounds of CO2 and save $3,750 a year driving a hybrid. Until then, keep your current vehicle tuned up, oil changed, and tires properly inflated.

Reusable shopping bags. One reusable bag eliminates 300-500 plastic bags from our landfills. Carry the bags in your car and use them everywhere you shop.

“Green” clothes and linens. Eco-friendly fabrics are produced without petrochemical products, and include organic cotton, hemp, linen, bamboo and wool. Some clothing is colored with low-impact dyes, or uses naturally colored fibers. Organic cotton bedding, mattresses, towels, sheets, stuffed toys and cloth diapers are available.

Compact-fluorescent bulbs (CFBs) and other energy-saving bulbs. CFBs last 10 times as long, and use one-fourth the energy of an incandescent bulb. LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs use less electricity than fluorescent or incandescent, and last longer.

Home appliances. Use a thermometer and turn the refrigerator and freezer down as much as possible. Use the warm or cold water setting on the washer. Run the dishwasher when full, using the energy saving setting. Turn down the water heater thermostat by 10 degrees.Look for the Energy Star label for the most energy-efficient models. Consider replacing your water heater with a tankless version. Install and set up a programmable digital thermometer on your heating/cooling systems, and adjust the temperature to economize and ecologize. Unplug electronic devices that are not in use — even when turned off they use energy.

Plastic water bottles. They tax our landfills and break down slowly. Stainless steel or other reusable bottles are available. I bought my mother one for Christmas - it’s engraved with her name, and is a sexy orange color. You might be able to spot her on the golf course.

Healthy cleaning products. You can gradually replace toxic products with nontoxic alternatives. Remember things like vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, isopropyl alcohol, corn starch, citrus oil, Borax and TSP for cleaning? It’s also easy to replace some paper towels with washable cloths.

Save water. Use a low-flow shower head, and while waiting for the water to get hot, collect the cold water in a bucket for watering plants. Collect rainwater and graywater with water catchment systems. Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your yard, and use a microdrip irrigation system.

Plants and trees. Trees are not only visual expressions of nature’s beauty but also suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Plant useful, edible things like vegetables and culinary or medicinal herbs in your garden, window boxes and pots. I call this edible landscaping. You can check out the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF), a nonprofit charity dedicated to planting fruit trees around the world, at www.ftpf.org.

Local, organic farmers and community-supported agriculture (CSA) organizations. These types of operations increase the quality of care given to the land, plants and animals. They use less of our non-renewable resources, and the food is fresh and nutritious. It is also usually organic. Chemicals used in modern agriculture require energy to produce. Organic growing reduces chemical exposure to the land, air, water, farmers, and your family.

What’s new at the Farmers Market? Spring vegetables are starting to appear. Look for the fresh pea pods, spinach, chard, kale and carrots from a local Arivaca grower. These carrots are delicate and flavorful - the kind you can eat raw or serve with only a little butter, salt & pepper. They’ll make you remember childhood on the farm!

Samaya Jones is a Holistic Nutritionist and Natural Foods Personal Chef. She writes for health websites, newspapers, and teaches food and wine education classes. She can be reached at ncsamayaj@gmail.com.